


Immortal Bites: Love in Santa Carla

by enbymarko



Category: The Lost Boys (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:35:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 13,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28974468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbymarko/pseuds/enbymarko
Summary: 34 years after the supposed demise of The Lost Boys, they return to Santa Carla to get their revenge but their plans are thrown off when they meet the daughter of a former brotherLost Boys x Thompson! OC
Relationships: David (Lost Boys)/Original Female Character(s), Dwayne (Lost Boys)/Original Female Character(s), Marko (Lost Boys)/Original Female Character(s), Paul (Lost Boys)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 40





	1. Prologue

1987

David snuck out of the Emerson house, having pulled off the most complicated mind trick he’d ever attempted. He walked over to the other boys standing just out of sight from the house, a look of exhaustion on his face. Turning rice into maggots and noodles into worms was one thing, but convincing multiple people that Dwayne had been blown up by a radio and Paul had melted in a tub of holy water while also having to position himself correctly as to not have the antlers of Grandpa Emerson’s latest taxidermy project impale his heart is something completely different.  
Not to mention having to continue to play dead when he saw his sire staked. He could finally have the freedom he’d yearned for years. He’d never have to follow Max’s tyrannical rule ever again. His three brothers looked impressed by his illusion.  
“Well, that should get them off our backs,” Dwayne said cracking his neck. “At least now we don’t have Max to boss us around.”  
“Yeah now we just have David to boss us around,” Paul laughed as David glared at him.  
“We need to leave Santa Carla as soon as possible though. We can’t exactly go prowling around the boardwalk the night after we were supposedly massacred,” said David.  
“I’m gonna miss this place,” Marko looked down at his feet. None of this would’ve happened if the Emerson’s never came into their lives. He wouldn’t have ever been staked. Sure, the kid completely missed his heart, but being impaled through the stomach isn’t exactly the most pleasant of experiences either.  
“Don’t worry Marko, we’ll be back eventually. They’re going to pay for what they did to you. We just have to wait it out and strike when they’re least expecting it, give them a few years of false safety before we come back in and take away everything. Only this time, Michael’s not going to have the protection of being a half-vampire against us” David said, knowing of Marko’s worries.

2021  
And they did come back-- 34 years later-- A modern-day Santa Carla, still the murder capital of the world.  
Turns out vampires weren’t the only killers in the Californian town. Everything was the same but somehow different. The boardwalk was still the most popular tourist attraction, but it wasn’t swarmed by the same people, there were no familiar faces when the boys returned to get their revenge. Nobody to recognize them. Nobody to warn the Emersons of their return.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a busy day in the book store, and for some reason, her Uncle Mikey decided while he was out of town with his family that he’d only schedule two people for this shift. One of those people of course being his niece, Cam. 

Not his actual niece though of course, no. She was the daughter of his wife’s adoptive brother who he met through a pack of vampires when he was a teenager. Crazy shit. 

But did Cam know this? No, obviously not, because she’d think her entire family’s gone off the rails. Luckily, Mikey cut the Frog brothers out of his life shortly after the lost boys attacked his home. They would’ve filled their kids’ minds with horror stories of monsters lurking in the shadows. The kids didn’t need that sort of trauma. As they say, ignorance is bliss.

Cam was stocking the new releases shelf when she heard the bell above the door ring, she made no effort to greet the new customers as that was Tasha’s job as the cashier. 

“Oh hello how can I help you today?” Tasha greeted what Cam liked to refer to as her ‘hot guy just walked in’ voice. 

Cam rolled her eyes at the sad attempt at flirting. 

“We’re looking for Michael Emerson. we were told he owns this place,” a rough voice replied. 

“Oh well I’m sorry sir, but Mr. Emerson is currently out of town. I don’t know when he’s coming back but maybe Cam will. Cam!” Tasha yelled across the shop. 

The girl slowly made her way to the checkout area where the group was. Standing near Tasha was not just one, but four very attractive men who looked like they had just stepped out of an 80s movie. 

“Hi, we were looking for Michael Emerson and we were wondering when exactly he’d be back,” said the one who was speaking before. 

“He’s in Phoenix visiting his brother. He won’t be back until Sunday night at the earliest. Why are you looking for him?” Cam questioned while looking the guy up and down. She’d never seen a guy actually look good in a mullet before, especially a platinum blonde one. 

The boy quirked his eyebrow teasingly as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

“Well our grandfather knew his mother and always spoke fondly of her so I thought we could possibly reconnect and share some stories,” he said giving what looked like a warm smile but her senses said otherwise as her stomach churned nervously.

“He knew my Grandma Lucy?” she inquired. 

“Grandma?”

“Yeah, well I guess not technically my grandmother, great aunt maybe? I always called her grandma though. My aunt is married to Michael.” the girl explained, rambling on far longer than she wanted to.

“Your aunt is Star?” he looked shocked.

“Yeah she took my dad in when he was young and treated him as her brother,” she further clarified. 

Why was she dumping her entire family history on these boys? 

Another one of the boys spoke up, this one the tallest of the group with black hair. “Wait, is your father Laddie?” he asked. 

She nodded confused as to how he’d know that. 

“Sorry, our grandfather spoke of a young boy that was somewhat close to Lucy,” he quickly explained. She nodded again shifting her weight from foot to foot as an awkward silence fell over the group. Cam was the first to break it. 

“Well, if you’d like to leave your names I’d be happy to pass a message along to my uncle so he can talk to you as soon as he’s home,” she offered. 

The apparent leader of the group spoke again, “No that’s alright we’ll be in town for a while so we’ll just drop by again once he’s back.” The group started retreating from the shop starting with the rocker and the curly-haired punk closely followed by ‘tall, dark and handsome’ as Cam had now nicknamed him. 

“Thank you for your help Cam and we’ll be seeing you again soon, I hope,” he turned towards the door and walked out. 

Who the fuck were those guys?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a slow start but the boys have met Cam and know who her dad is!


	3. Chapter 3

Friday at last. Cam didn’t have work. It was her last summer before she went off to college… maybe. She wasn’t actually entirely sure about the whole college thing quite yet, her dad never went to college and he turned out fine. For the most part.

Laddie Thompson was a single father. Never been married but had a child dropped on him when he was 25 years old by an ex-girlfriend who never bothered telling him she was pregnant in the first place. One day, 18, going on 19 years ago, there was a knock on the door and there she was with a crying bundle of joy. 

He didn’t even manage to get a word in before Nicole was shoving the newborn in his arms saying she wasn’t cut out to be a mom and to never contact her again. The child was his problem and his problem alone. Or so he thought. 

Star and Michael were told very soon after the entire ordeal and with young kids of their own, offered to help Laddie with his new daughter. The rest is history, and while Cam had an absent mother, she was never deprived of love and a close-knit family. That was one thing Laddie and Star made sure of, she would have a much better life than the ones they suffered that had led them to Santa Carla in the first place.

It was just starting to get dark out when Cam started getting ready to head out.

“Hey, kiddo where you headin’ out to at this time? Got a hot date or something?” her father said in one of his weird attempts at being ‘hip with the kids’ and ‘down with the times’. 

“No date, I’m just going to the boardwalk. Might walk around, might go shopping but probably not because all the prices are jacked up for tourists. Might laugh at how dumb people dress in an attempt to look cool,” Cam said. This was the fun part about her relationship with her dad, they were so comfortable around each other she never felt the need to lie to him about anything and could always joke around. 

Sure it was a kind of hippie way to raise your kid to not tell them exactly what to do but she benefited from it by never having to feel trapped within her own home. 

“Maybe I’ll run into those guys who were looking for Uncle Mikey yesterday.”

“Who? There are guys looking for Mike?” Laddie said, looking mildly concerned.

“Oh yeah they walked into the shop yesterday while I was working and were wondering when he’d be back from his trip to visit Uncle Sammy,” she said, not sensing anything weird about the situation.

“What’d they look like? Maybe I know them,” he said, really hoping Michael didn’t get in trouble with some gang.

“They were all super cute. I swear they walked straight out the 80s”. She described each boy individually, “There was one that looked kinda like Duff McKagan, or at least he dressed like him with that mesh shirt of his. Then there was this other one who was the shortest one of the group with a super curly mullet and this sick ass patchwork jacket, I really wish I got the chance to compliment him on it while he was in the store. The third dude who I like to refer to as ‘tall, dark and handsome’ was pretty quiet, but he’s actually the one who asked if you were my dad. Then there was the leader who is the only person I've seen pull off a platinum blonde mullet, he kinda reminded me of Billy Idol. He was nice enough but he seemed kind of intimidating, y’know?”

It can’t actually be them...could it? It has to be a coincidence, David and Marko were staked, Paul was melted and Dwayne exploded. That’s what Michael said. They all died so there’s no possible way they could be alive and looking for Michael. But… the one who sounds like Dwayne was asking about him. How? If they survived, how the hell did they pull it off?

Cam stared at her dad worried. After every description, she said he seemed to go deeper into thought. “So do you know them or not?” she asked.

“I don’t know. They seem really familiar though,” Laddie replied to his daughter with an airy and faraway voice.

“Okay well, I'm gonna head out now if that’s cool with you,” Cam said slowly inching her way towards the door in an attempt to exit the awkward situation. 

“Right, have fun, and remember to be back before 3 am preferably and if you can’t just give me a heads up and text me,” he said snapping back to reality.

“Yup see ya later daddio!” she quickly waved goodbye before heading out the door towards the boardwalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so we’re not gonna go with the stereotypical “i hate my dad” trope because Laddie was raised right and loves his daughter


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for this chapter: mild sexual harassment and cat calling, broken bones

Cam arrived at the boardwalk just a few minutes later and climbed off her bike. She always parked it in the same secluded spot. Sure, it’s not great if some freak follows her and she gets caught alone but the spot ensures that nobody touches her ‘precious’. This is yet another thing she inherited from her dad. He had a huge obsession with motorcycles as a kid which he passed down to her and for her 16th birthday, her dad bought her her very own motorcycle. All she had to do was get her license which she did immediately because nothing would stop her from getting that bike.

She walked towards the shops that lined the boardwalk and noticed four other motorcycles. They were all vintage and all in amazing shape given their age. Cam could tell that they were well-loved and she silently hoped she’d get to meet the owners of those bikes eventually.

Cam was walking past the surf shop when she heard a low whistle come from behind her, “Damn, Mama is that a phone in your back pocket because that ass is calling me!”

Surf Nazis, the local gang that’s been around since, well, forever. They think they own the boardwalk and they’re absolute pigs. 

Cam turned slowly to avoid snapping at the blonde-haired asshole. She glared at him as his surrounding friends started to ‘ooo’ around him. He smirked at her visible anger. Cam stomped up to the gang member and grabbed the front of his shirt.

“You ever talk to me like that again, and I will be shoving my foot so far up your ass you’ll be coughing up my shoelaces,” the girl said, seething. She shoved him back forcefully into his group of friends.

He was pissed. He stood up straight and slowly walked up to her, like a predator stalking his prey. “You messed with the wrong group, pretty lady. I complimented you. You should be thanking me but now you’re gonna pay.” 

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” a voice from behind Cam spoke firmly. She knew that voice. Cam turned her head to the side, having not stopped glaring at the Surf Nazi through the entire altercation. It was the guy from the bookstore and his three friends.

“Oh really? It won’t be necessary? Tell me why I shouldn’t knock this bitch out right now,” he said, gesturing to the girl between the two groups.

“Because if you lay a hand on her, me and my boys are gonna have to teach you a lesson. It takes a man with no balls to lay his hands on a woman,” the platinum blonde said, taking a step closer towards the gang member.

“I’d like to see you try,” he goes to grab Cam’s hair but his wrist is caught before it touches her. Cam has been living in Santa Carla her whole life, she’s not dumb. She’d never walk into the night not knowing how to protect herself. With his wrist in her hand, she quickly snapped it backward with a loud crack. 

The Surf Nazi collapsed to the ground with a shout of pain. “You broke my fucking wrist!” he screamed in agony, his gang surrounding him in shock that a girl could do such a thing to their leader. Cam rolled her eyes and turned to walk away.

David looked at the girl’s retreating figure with a look of shock and amazement. He quickly glanced back at the boys, all equally as impressed as he was, and motioned to follow him to meet up with the girl again.

The boys moved in a pack to catch up with Cam, Marko walking especially quickly. “Cam! Hey, Cam!” She paused in her spot as he ran ahead of her and suddenly stopped. “That was so fucking badass! You just snapped that guy’s wrist like it was nothing!” he said with childlike amazement.

“Well yeah, I learned self-defense when I was young. My dad insisted on it because he knows how dangerous Santa Carla can be,” Cam said, suddenly shy. Nobody’s ever thought her self defense was cool, definitely no guys.

“I’m Marko by the way,” the curly-haired punk smiled. He had a spark of mischief in his eyes that Cam didn’t know if she should worry about or not.

“Cam. We didn’t really get to talk yesterday when you were in the shop. I really like your jacket as well, I wanted to tell you but I only just got the chance to tell you now,” she said, mildly embarrassed by the quick change of subject. She had just broken a guy’s wrist in front of him and now she’s being bashful? Cam couldn’t believe herself.

The other boys finally walked up to the pair and platinum mullet spoke, “I see you’ve met Marko.”

“Yeah,” she trailed off, not trusting herself to not ramble about how sweet and wonderful and complimentary he was being. 

The other three went to introduce themselves, starting with the Duff Mckagan lookalike. “I’m Paul,” the blonde rocker smiled lazily. He was high, he was definitely high.

“I’m Dwayne,” said ‘tall, dark and handsome’ as she had donned him. This guy was ridiculously pretty. He wasn’t even wearing a shirt! Who the hell is that confident?

“And I’m David,” spoke the leader in his deep voice. His introduction snapped Cam out of her thoughts immediately. He certainly knew how to command a room. “That little move back there was quite impressive.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Cam said shortly. Unlike Marko, she didn’t wanna show any weakness or vulnerability around David. She felt the need to keep her guard up and prove that she was strong to him.

“The boys and I were gonna go grab a bite to eat, if you’re not busy I’d love for you to join us,” he said, inviting the girl. There was a pull from within her that urged her to accept despite her gut screaming at her to leave immediately.

“Please Cam, you should come with us. I promise we don’t bite,” Marko begged.

“Speak for yourself,” Paul snorted, being elbowed by Dwayne immediately after.

“So what do you say?” David raised his eyebrow at the girl waiting for her answer.

“Yeah. I guess I could go for some food. It’s not like I had anything specific planned for tonight anyways,” Cam finally agreed and followed the boys to a 24-hour diner.

* * *

Cam laughed loudly at another dumb joke Paul told, receiving a glare from a server who was cleaning tables.

“Man, for a Friday night this place sure is dead,” she said, not talking to anyone in particular.

“You mean a Saturday morning?” Dwayne said with an amused grin.

“Saturday morning? What do you mean, Saturday morning?” Cam said with confusion, pulling out her phone to check the time. 4:02, shit. She quickly stood from the table and started heading to the door.

“Woah, wait. Where are you going so fast all of a sudden?” Paul got up and followed her.

“My dad said he wanted me home by 3 and now it’s past 4 and I didn’t call him to let him know I’d be late. God, he’s probably at home freaking out right now. I had so much fun with you guys tonight but I really have to go. I'm so sorry,” Cam said, rushing down the boardwalk towards her bike.

Paul stood still while the other boys walked up behind him. He turned slightly to David, “Can we keep her?”

* * *

Cam slowly crept into her house, praying that her dad was asleep. The living room light was on, busted. She did her walk of shame into the room, ready to be grounded until college for missing curfew.

“I asked you to text me if you were going to be late,” Laddie said, eyes facing the floor.

“I know you did and I’m so sorry I was hanging out with some friends and I completely lost track of time but I came back as soon as I noticed,” Cam explained hoping it would get her out of trouble. She hated when her dad was upset with her.

“Friends?” her dad said with a hint of a smirk. The tension from the room immediately disappeared, he wasn’t mad. He was just worried.

“Yes, dad. I have friends. I was with those guys I told you about, the ones who wanted to see Uncle Mikey,” she clarified.

Laddie’s eyes widened in shock but he quickly covered it up. “You were hanging out with four boys?” She was hanging out with a supposedly dead vampire gang is what he was actually thinking.

“Dad, I’m 18 years old. I’m allowed to hang out with the opposite sex. Nothing even happened, we just hung out at a diner and talked.”

He was visibly relieved. “Okay, all is forgiven then, I guess. Am I ever gonna meet these boys who you apparently think are cute? You haven’t even told me their names.”

“Oh yeah, I just learned their names tonight. There’s David, Marko, Dwayne, and Paul. I’m sure they’d love to meet you eventually. I’ll ask next time I see them,” she said with a smile and a little sway of her body.

Laddie forced a smile, “Great.”


	5. Chapter 5

The boys walked back into the cave lighting barrels as they went as they still had a few hours to kill before sunrise. David sat in the old wheelchair that managed to survive the decades of their absence and watched as the others fell into their normal routines.

Paul lit a blunt and sat on the fountain. “I can’t believe Laddie has a kid. I know it’s been a while since we’ve been back but holy shit he was just a little kid last time we saw him.”

“Not to mention his daughter is really cool,” Marko said feeding his pigeons.

“And Hot. Don’t forget hot,” Paul said, being smacked over the back of the head by Dwayne as he skateboarded past.

Dwayne stopped and turned to Paul, “Dude, her dad was like a little brother to us. Isn’t it kinda weird to be hitting on her?”

“We live forever, it’s not that weird. Plus it’s not like we’ve been close to Laddie in years. He doesn’t even know we’re back in Santa Carla,” Paul tried explaining before he was cut off.

“Unless she told him,” David said from across the cave. Three heads turned to him. “We don’t know if she’s told Laddie if we’re back. He could’ve told Michael and our cover would be blown. We don’t know how much Cam knows about us.”

“If she’s a liability why did we hang out with her tonight?” Dwayne asked, stone-faced.

“She intrigued me. And don’t pretend you’re not interested, Dwayne. You were the closest to Laddie and now you think getting to know Cam could be a second chance.”

Dwayne looked down trying to hide his emotions. He’s always had to conceal how he felt towards the young boy back then. It was a chance for him to be a father figure and it was ripped away by Star and Michael. He had to be strong though, if it weren’t for him, a big mistake could’ve been made all those years ago and they could very well have been dead by now after having their covers blown.

* * *

1987

The four vampires were in their cave packing away their essentials. They’d be gone by tomorrow night, off to another city to plan and wait for the perfect moment to come back and strike.

“I hate that we have to leave. We could go back and slaughter them all and they wouldn’t know what hit them now that they think we’re dead,” Marko grumbled to himself.

“You know why we can’t do that Marko. It’s been a long night for all of us. We need to pack and get ready to leave by sundown tomorrow. I told you we’ll be back,” David said firmly, trying to calm the shorter boy.

“I think I’m just gonna miss Laddie,” Paul said, uncharacteristically somber. That kid was like a baby brother to him and reminded him so much of the brother he had in his human life.

“I’ll miss him too but you know we can’t take him with us,” Dwayne said, laying his hand on Paul’s shoulder. They were the closest to Laddie and spoiled him whenever they could. The Lost Boys weren’t just a gang, they were a family.

“Why can’t we just grab him before we leave? He loved it here before Star took him. I’m sure he’d love to go with us,” Paul said, hopefully already forming a plan in his head to save the child from the Emersons.

Dwayne’s resolve wavered a little at Paul’s suggestion. They could technically grab Laddie without the Emersons ever finding out it was them. People went missing in Santa Carla all the time, what’s one more kid? 

He stopped that train of thought before it went too far. This life isn’t for an 11-year-old. He shouldn’t have to kill people to survive, he’s so young and full of life. It’d be selfish to take that from him. He was only turned half in the first place because he was attacked on the boardwalk and blood was the only way to save him. 

“He needs to live a normal life, Paul. Star and Michael might be able to give him that, it’s what he deserves.”

Paul nodded sadly in agreement. They left the following night.

* * *

Present Day

Maybe Dwayne did view Cam as a second chance. She never threatened them. She didn’t even seem to know who they were. Cam wasn’t responsible for what her family did to his. She seemed to genuinely like them. He only hopes he’s right and that he doesn’t have to hurt her or Laddie when it comes time to get their revenge.

“So we have one more night to get through before Michael should be back in town. Tomorrow night we’ll feed to build our strength and Sunday night is when we’ll go pay him a visit,” David went over the plan with the others.

“Shouldn’t we figure out exactly how much Michael knows before we show up? You said it yourself, Cam might’ve told him that we’re here. We shouldn’t go in blind,” Dwayne reasoned with David.

“You’re right, we can’t just run in blind and we don’t know how much he knows. So we’ll wait until he brings the battle to us.”

“That didn’t seem to go all that well last time,” Marko said, staring off into the distance recalling the horrific attack that nearly killed him.

“We weren’t prepared, we didn’t know we were being attacked. This time we’ll be ready,” David said with determination.


	6. Chapter 6

Laddie was pacing back and forth across his bedroom floor. It was Sunday morning, a few more hours, and Michael and Star would be back in Santa Carla. He hadn’t told them yet, they were supposed to be on a vacation to visit Sam and he didn’t want to worry them. 

Maybe The Lost Boys weren’t going to bother them. He knew it was wishful thinking, but he also knew that the boys weren’t all bad. They had saved his life once and had no issue taking him in after he was attacked. They were like family to him and sure, maybe living in a cave wasn’t the best place for a kid his age but it was a hell of a lot better than living in the streets. They were his brothers.

Laddie glanced out the door of his room into Cam’s. She was at work right now so he could have a meltdown without worrying her. He saw the teddy bear on her bed. It used to be his, Marko had won it for him at one of the game booths on the boardwalk. 

Laddie had passed it down to Cam when she was just a baby. She wouldn’t stop crying no matter what he did. He remembers shushing the child while on the phone, begging Star for help. 

* * *

“Doesn’t she have any stuffed animals? Sometimes kids just need something soft to hold on to,” she said tiredly. It was 3 in the morning, he had woken her up just for this situation.

He had glanced around quickly, searching for anything soft when his eyes fell on the teddy bear resting on the mantle. He grabbed it and pushed it into the baby’s arms. Cam looked at the object in wonder and calmed down immediately.

Star heard the crying cease over the phone before hearing Laddie pick up the phone again. “You’re a lifesaver, Star. I don’t know how that worked but thank you,” he sighed tiredly over the line.

* * *

That bear has remained in Cam’s room ever since. Luckily, Michael never recognized where the plushie came from but he did receive a few uneasy looks from Star after seeing the child with it. It wasn’t like he could take away the bear, it was the only thing that could calm Cam down.

The main reason why he raised her the way he did is because that’s how the boys took care of him. There were very few strict rules, but generally, he could do as he pleased.

They were good people, he knew it. That’s why, unlike Michael and Star, he never made them out to be the bad guys. The boys weren’t villains. They had to eat to survive. The Frogs were the first to strike when they staked Marko.

He hoped that he was right about them. Maybe they’d changed in the past 3 decades. Maybe they wouldn’t attack them again. It might be wishful thinking but he hoped that conflict could be avoided. He and Cam would be stuck in the middle as the two sides of their family fought and it wouldn’t end well.

* * *

Michael and Star were due back tonight and they’d be meeting at the Thompson residence for dinner. He’d have to get them alone to warn them of the boys' return. Laddie just hoped he could keep this away from his daughter.

Cam was setting the table for dinner when the doorbell rang. She ran to the door pulling it open.

“Aunt Star! Uncle Mikey! How was Phoenix?” she said excitedly, going in for a hug.

“Cam! There’s my favorite niece! Phoenix was nice and Sammy says he misses you and that you should go out and visit him soon,” Michael hugged her back.

“Uncle Mikey, I’m your only niece,” Cam pulled away from her uncle and jokingly pushed him.

Laddie walked in to greet his siblings. “Hey guys, welcome back,” he smiled at Star and Michael.

“Well dinner’s almost done, so if you guys wanna wait at the table I get everything set up,” Cam told the grown-ups, motioning to the dining room.

“Oh actually I wanted to talk to your aunt and uncle about something real quick so we’ll be in in a minute.”

Star and Michael looked at each other in confusion. Laddie motioned them to the living room.

Once they were out of earshot Michael turned to Laddie, “What did you have to say?”

“I don’t know how, but The Lost Boys are back.”


	7. Chapter 7

“What do you mean they’re back?” Michael said in disbelief, turning to look at Star who was in a state of shock.

“They’re back. They came to the store a few days ago looking for you,” Laddie said solemnly. It was bad. He wanted to have a positive outlook but he knew that he was probably wrong.

“They were at the store? Did they see Cam? Do they know who she is?” Star said, being protective over her niece.

“Yes, they saw her and of course they know who she is. But they haven’t made any moves to hurt her,” Laddie said defending the boys.

“They haven’t hurt her yet. You don’t know what they’re planning, Laddie. They tried turning all three of us into bloodthirsty murders. I know you were young but you have to have remembered that,” Michael said desperately. 

Laddie knew that defending them was wrong but his experience was so much different from Michael’s and Star’s. They hadn’t even hurt Cam and they had hung out with her a few times now. If they wanted revenge they surely would’ve done something by now.

Cam poked her head into the living room. “Hey guys, dinner’s ready. So if you could all move into the kitchen, that’d be great,” she said with a tight smile. She knew she was being left out of the loop on something, and while it annoyed her to no end she knew she shouldn’t push.

“Of course sweetie, we’re coming,” Star said sweetly to her niece and guided Michael out of the room.

Cam hovered by the doorway waiting for her father. “Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. Just your uncle and I having a little discussion.” 

She nodded, deciding not to pry further, and headed to the kitchen.

The family sat down and started to dig in having normal conversations until the subject of Cam’s social life came up.

“So kiddo, what’d you get up to while your aunt and I were in Phoenix?” Michael asked the teenager.

“Nothing much, really. Worked at the shop a few days, hung out with some guys, it was a really great time. They were all super sweet,” she smiled, not sensing the storm that was coming on.

“You were hanging out with guys?” Michael asked, hoping that they weren’t ‘the guys’ he was thinking of.

“Oh yeah, the ones who were looking for you a few days ago. They said their grandpa knew Grandma Lucy and that they’d love to reconnect. I told them that you’d be home today so they said they’d drop by once you were back,” she said nonchalantly, digging into her green beans.

Michael’s head shot towards Laddie. “You let her hang out with them?” he raised his voice, making Cam glance up from her meal.

“Michael, please sit down. We can discuss this later,” Laddie’s eyes darted toward Cam, not wanting to have this conversation in front of his daughter.

“No! They could’ve killed her! They could’ve  _ turned  _ her,” his voice dropped into a growl.

“But they didn’t! They aren’t all bad, Michael!” Laddie yelled, getting frustrated.

“If Cam was my daughter-“

“-She’s not!” He cut Michael off. “She’s not your daughter, Michael. She’s mine. You don’t get to tell me how to raise my kid. Those boys haven’t laid a finger on her and I trust them not to. I know your and Star’s experience with them was terrible, but they treated me like family. So I won’t stop Cam from seeing them.”

Michael stood abruptly, pushing his chair back. “I’m leaving. If she gets hurt or killed or  _ worse,  _ that’s on you,” he said before walking out of the kitchen and slamming the front door on his way out.

Star sat at the table with a sad look on her face. “Why would you let her near them, Laddie? You know what they are and what they do.”

“They do it to survive, Star. They saved me once. I know they aren’t entirely evil,” Laddie said, trying to explain his side of the story.

She nodded in understanding. “Just be careful, okay? I can’t afford to lose anyone,” she said before walking out of the house.

Cam sat at the table not knowing what just happened. She looked up at her father before he spoke.

“I need to tell you something very important and I need you to listen to me.”


	8. Chapter 8

Cam and Laddie sat on the living room couch, their dinners abandoned. Cam tried to make sense of what her uncle had said as Laddie tried to put his experience into words.

“Those boys you hung out with, Marko, Paul, David, and Dwayne, they aren’t what they seem,” Laddie started, knowing that he sounded crazy.

“Not what they seem? What does that even mean, dad? Uncle Mikey said they tried turning you guys into murderers? What’s happening?” Cam said, panicked. They were just teenage boys, how awful could they be? They all seemed so nice and they never laid a hand on her.

“This is going to sound insane, they’re vampires, Cam,” 

“Vampires? Are you kidding me? I thought we don’t lie to each other. Vampires don’t exist, dad, why can’t you just tell me the truth instead of telling me some bogus story to cover your ass?” she said, frustrated with her family.

“I’m not lying, Cam. They’re vampires. That’s why they’re never out during the daytime. They haven’t aged a day since I first met them,” Laddie tried convincing his daughter.

Cam shook her head in disbelief, vampires? There’s no way they could be vampires. Her father had a point though. She had never seen them before sunset and they did look like they stepped straight out of the 80s.

“What did Star mean ‘you know what they do’ and when you said that they saved you?” she said, not able to look her father in the eyes.

“They kill people, Cam. They need blood to survive,” he stared at the wall blankly, recalling his first memory of the boys. “The reason I made you take those self-defense classes was for the same reason I met the boys. I had run away and a gang of Surf Nazis attacked me. Dwayne was the one who found me and took me back to the cave they live in. They fed me their sire’s blood and turned me into a half-vampire. Without them, I’d be dead.”

“But Michael said they could’ve killed me. Even if they saved you, why do you defend them?” Cam said, trying to make sense of it all.

“They were more than just some guys who saved me. They took me in, treated me like family. Dwayne was like a father to me and Paul was like an older brother. That teddy bear that I gave you as a baby was given to me by Marko. They’re not all bad, Cam. You’ve seen it for yourself. They’re nice people, they only kill people to keep themselves from going hungry.”

Cam didn’t know how to process all the information she was given. The guys she was hanging out with were vampires. They could’ve killed her but they didn’t. Maybe her dad was right, they can’t be all bad. Cam then remembered a detail from her first meeting with the boys.

“They were looking for Uncle Mikey. Why? And they said that their grandpa knew Grandma Lucy. Were they lying too?” the teenager asked, connecting dots.

“Your uncles and aunt did something to the boys they’d never forgive. One of your Uncle Sammy’s friends staked Marko and killed him, or nearly killed him, I guess. They attacked first, not the boys. Michael led them to the cave to save your Aunt Star and me despite the fact I felt that I didn’t need saving. I was happy with the boys. David saw this as a betrayal and they struck back and ended up faking their deaths. When they said their grandpa knew Lucy, they were probably referring to Max, their sire. He was in love with your grandmother and planned on turning her as well as the rest of her family. As far as I know, he’s actually dead,” Laddie said, explaining the entire situation.

“You’ve defended Marko, Dwayne and Paul, what about David?”

“David likes being in control but more than that he’s very protective of his brothers. I never got close to him since he scared me when I was young but I can’t fault him for wanting to protect his family.”

“Aunt Star didn’t seem as angry as Uncle Mikey,” the girl said, picking at the hem of her shirt.

“I’ve always been closer to your aunt than I have your uncle. She’s just as protective of me as she is of you. She saw the way the boys treated me so she understands why I would defend them. Her experience was worse than mine but that never means she would expect me to hate them,” Laddie said sadly, remembering how broken up Star was when she realized she was a half-vampire.

Cam looked thoughtfully out the window, “I think I need to go talk to them.”

Laddie nodded, “You wanna hear all sides of the story. Just be careful, if they know Michael’s back, they might be expecting an attack.”

“You said they live in a cave?”

“Yeah, well, a sunken hotel. It’s by Hudson’s Bluff, make sure you let them know you’re coming in. I don’t want them accidentally ambushing you,” Laddie told Cam protectively.

“Okay, well, sunset’s in a few minutes so they should be awake by the time I get there.”

“Okay, be safe please.”

“I will. Thank you for telling me all this dad. I love you,” she said, hugging her father. 

Cam had to hear their side of the story. Maybe walking into the lair of known killers was a bad idea but if her dad believed they were good people then she’d take his word. Cam got on her bike and rode towards Hudson’s Bluff as the sunset.


	9. Chapter 9

Michael stomped around the living room as Star sat on the couch zoning out.

“How could he let Cam be around them? They’re evil, Star. They’re gonna kill her!” He shouted, frustrated.

Star shook her head sadly, “He sees them differently, Michael. He was young and they treated him well.”

“They tried making him a killer when he was 11 years old,” Michael said in desperation, trying to understand why Laddie would defend those boys.

“They saved him, Michael. He’d be dead without them…” Star said, trailing off.

“Are you defending them now? Star, you hated it there. You told me I had to kill the head vampire to save you from them.”

“Yeah, I hated their lifestyle. David was manipulative and they hated that I wouldn’t change but they weren’t awful to us. I just wouldn’t kill for them,” Star said, giving Michael her side of the story.

“Star! You’re actually siding with Laddie on this? They’ll suck Cam dry just to get back at me-“

Star stood up abruptly, “I’m not siding with anyone! I’m trying to understand where he’s coming from. If Cam has hung out with them a few times, they would’ve killed her by now if they planned to!”

“They’re playing with her to get back at me-“

“Not everything is about you, Michael! Those boys never wished harm upon Laddie, they wouldn’t hurt Cam.”

Michael was fuming. “If you won’t back me up then I’ll kill them myself,” he said darkly.

Star was horrified. “No. Michael, please think this through. You’re outnumbered and you don’t have the strength. It’s dark out already, please don’t do this,” she begged him to stay.

He shook his head and stomped up the stairs to the master bedroom and slammed open the closet doors. On the top shelf, laid a box that had been left unopened since the day it was put together. 

Michael grabbed it and set it on the bed, throwing the cover off it. In the box, there were two stakes, a flask of holy water, and a crucifix. It would have to do, he knew he was realistically walking into his grave but that didn’t sway him. He’d kill those bastards once and for all. They would never get away with trying to hurt his niece. 

Star stood in the doorway of the bedroom, a solemn look on her face, “Michael, they’ll kill you if you step foot in that cave. Just leave them be.”

“No Star, they won’t stop. Not until I’m dead. You’re either with me or you’re not, if you come with me we can end them once and for all. We’ll never have to worry about them ever again.”

“I can’t go with you. I’m not a killer, Michael. I won’t stop you from going but I refuse to be a part of this,” Star said, staring into the crazed eyes of her husband.

Michael was upset. His wife was turning her back on him, for The Lost Boys of all people. 

No. Not People. Monsters. She was turning her back on her husband for four monsters. 

He should’ve known, David always had her wrapped around his finger. 34 years wouldn’t change that. He shook his head and exited the bedroom, down the stairs, and out the front door. He would end The Lost Boys if it was the last thing he’d ever do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel bad for the wait on these chapters and this one is rather short, so i’ll be uploading the next chapter later today~River


	10. Chapter 10

Cam pulled her bike up to the bluff, near a set of rickety old stairs. 

The sun had set. This might be her last day alive if her dad was wrong and they were actually playing her to eventually kill her. She climbed down the stairs and was met with a myriad of warnings and do not enter signs.

“David? It’s Cam. I really have to talk to you guys, I promise I’m not here to hurt you.” She entered the sunken hotel with her arms raised. Surrounding her were a few lit-up barrels, shedding some light across the walls of the cavern.

A thump against the floor sounded from behind her, she quickly turned to be met with a dark jacket and those intimidating icy blue eyes. “We’re a bit preoccupied at the moment, what do you need to talk about?”

“My dad told me what you are and what happened in the 80s. I needed to hear your side of the story before I decided on what to think of you,” she looked down suddenly shy. She knew that if she didn’t approve of their side of the story they’d definitely kill her but she had to know.

“Our side of the story? Like you’re some sort of journalist?” David looked over her shoulder, “Dwayne, make sure she’s unarmed.”

She glanced behind her to see the other boys standing around the cave. Were they there the entire time? Dwayne walked towards her carefully and patted her down like a TSA agent would. “She’s got nothing,” he said seriously.

“Sit,” David commanded, gesturing to the beat-up couch that sat against one of the walls. “We’ll tell you what happened.”

She listened and quickly scurried to the couch and watched as David sat in an old wheelchair in the center of the room. The other boys remained tense and standing.

“We used to rule the boardwalk, nobody would dare mess with us. We were happy as we were but our sire Max, who we weren’t overly struck on wanted more. He wanted a mate and he found that in a woman named Lucy Emerson.”

“My grandma.”

“Yeah, your grandma. Don’t interrupt,” David said sharply. Cam nodded quickly while apologizing.

“As our sire, he could command us to do whatever he wanted. And his idea to get Lucy to accept him for what he is- what we all are, was to first change her sons, Michael and Sam. Star was originally supposed to kill Michael to turn her whole, but after Max’s orders were given she became the bait that would draw him in. We were to turn him first and then get to his brother,” he explained, the other boys looking deep in thought.

“Michael refused to join so remained a half-vampire like Star. The longer he refused to fully turn the harder it was to resist his thirst. Sam had made friends with a few amateur vampire hunters when they first moved and saw the signs of vampirism in his brother and called the Frog Brothers. To turn back half-vampires you have to kill the head vampire, none of the boys knew who it was so they assumed it was one of us. They attacked us in the middle of the day while we were asleep. One of those snotty little hunters staked Marko, thankfully missing his heart. We were angry. During the assault, they also took Laddie from us. We never mistreated that kid, yet Star made us out to be the worst caretakers ever,” David said angrily. Cam could sense that they cared for her father deeply when he was with them.

“We showed up at the Emerson house that night to stage our deaths. We knew that they’d be prepared so we couldn’t take the risk running in there, especially one man short. We vowed to come back, to show them why they should’ve left us alone. And now we’re here and we’re ready,” he said, serious and determined.

Cam sat there silently taking in his words when Paul approached her, “You believe us right?”

She nodded, looking up at him, “My dad told me that you guys saved his life. He told me that you guys weren’t evil and that you only killed people to survive. I don’t think you guys are as bad as my uncle says you are. If you were, you would’ve killed me by now.”

Paul rushed forward onto the couch to hug the girl, “Thank you, you’re probably the best thing to happen to us in a while. There’s no way we’d ever even think of hurting you… unless you’re into that,” he winked suggestively. Dwayne rolled his eyes at the remark while Marko snickered to himself.

“We’re happy that you seem to have your head on straight, unlike Michael,” Dwayne said smirking.

“Tell me about it,” Cam rolled her eyes. “He freaked out over dinner when he found out I was just hanging out with you guys. He kept saying that you’d kill me and that if he were my dad he wouldn’t let me do this kind of stuff. It actually made my dad freak out too, I barely see him yell but he was pissed at Mikey. Even Star seemed unimpressed by my uncle’s behavior.”

“Star didn’t like that Michael was yelling?” David said perplexed.

“Yeah, she actually sided with my dad kinda,” she explained. “She was worried but she wasn’t angry at my dad’s decision to let me continue hanging around you guys.”

The boys looked at each other, silently communicating. Was Star actually okay with them now? She wasn’t completely backing up Michael which could possibly be used to their advantage.

A sound came from the entrance of the cave. There stood Michael Emerson, stake in one hand and flask of holy water in the other, glaring down at the group with murder in his eyes.

“Get away from my niece.”


	11. Chapter 11

“Get away from my niece,” Michael growled from the cave entrance, slowly advancing towards the group.

“Uncle Mikey please, you shouldn’t be here. Just go home, this doesn’t have to get violent,” Cam begged Michael.

“You don’t know what they’re like, Cam. Get out of my way and let me handle this,” he said, glaring at the teenager.

“I do know what they’re like! They’ve been nothing but nice to me these last few days. Please Uncle Mikey, just go home.”

“Cam, I think you should stand back,” David said, lightly grabbing her arm, keeping eye contact with her uncle. David knew Michael was about to do something he’d regret and he didn’t want Cam to be caught in the middle.

Michael had crossed the room and was in a position to fight. He was already surrounded, none of them taking the chance of getting hurt again. Cam stood outside of the circle terrified.

“This should’ve been done 34 years ago, you never should’ve come back here and threatened my family,” Michael said in an intimidating voice.

Dwayne growled behind him, “None of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t have attacked us, staked Marko, and taken Laddie.” Paul glowered, recalling the incident. Michael’s actions nearly killed one of his brothers and had made him leave Laddie behind.

Cam was now cowering near the wall of the cave, scared of what would happen. She might see her uncle die here tonight. She shuddered at the other possibility. 

She couldn’t see the boys die. They’d only known each other for a few days, but she was already so attached to them. They understood her and treated her like family. She felt free around them. She felt safe, a feeling that’s hard to come by in Santa Carla. She couldn’t stand there and let them die. She wouldn’t.

Marko glanced at the girl past Michael noticing her terror at the situation. This action was not missed by the older man. He glared at the curly-haired vampire and snapped, “Don’t pretend you care about her.”

Marko had to stop himself from attacking Michael right there. “I’m not pretending. I care about her, we all do. We cared for Laddie and now we care for her. We’d never hurt her. I think she cares about us too considering she wanted to hear our side of the story,” he raised an eyebrow tauntingly.

Michael snapped his head towards his niece, “Are you really so naive as to actually believe them, Cam? They lie. They lied to me. They turned me into a half-vampire against my will. They’ll only hurt you.”

She shook her head in disbelief. Her father told her they were good. The boys had told her they only targeted her uncle on behalf of their sire who was now dead. They had been so nice to her, she couldn’t believe her uncle’s words.

David spoke again, “We were only following orders, Michael. You had to be one of us because Max wanted us to turn you. We couldn’t go against our sire’s orders.”

“And what about now? Are you going to kill me now? Whose orders are you listening to now?” Michael said, slightly unhinged.

“My own. Max has been dead since that night which put me in charge. We came back to show you why you should’ve minded your business all those years ago.”

“No, David please. I know what he did to you was terrible but he’s my uncle. You can’t kill him,” Cam pleaded, rushing towards the platinum blonde.

“Yeah David, are you gonna kill her uncle right in front of her. I’m sure that’d damage her perfect image of you,” Michael said mockingly.

“Would you kill the men she cares about right in front of her?” he taunted.

Michael snapped. He rushed forward before the other others could grab him, stake clutched in one hand aiming towards the vampire.

“No!” Cam screamed in horror.

A loud squelching sound filled the cave followed by the sound of a body slumping to the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapters after this one!!~River


	12. Chapter 12

Star drove back to Laddie’s house, breaking the speed limit multiple times, but luckily wasn’t pulled over before she reached her brother’s home. She knocked rapidly on the door, praying for a quick answer. 

Laddie opened the door, confused to see his older sister in a panic, “Star, what are you doing here? Is Michael okay?”

“He went to the cave,” she said, out of breath.

“He what? No no no! Why is he going to the cave? That’s an awful idea,” Laddie said pulling Star into his foyer and closing the door behind them.

“He thinks they’re gonna hurt Cam. He took his stakes and holy water with him. He’s gonna get himself killed, Laddie you have to help me stop him. I know I don’t like the boys but Michael’s being stupid.”

“He brought weapons? Star, Cam is with them! He’s gonna hurt her!” Laddie said now much more panicked.

“Cam’s with them? Oh no, Laddie, this is severe. What if something bad happens?” Star said, pacing as her brother was racing around the house putting on his coat and shoes.

“We need to get to Hudson’s Bluff now, I just hope everything’s alright. The boys wouldn’t hurt her, they wouldn’t,” Laddie said, knowing the words may not be true.

The two rushed out the door, Laddie quickly locking it behind them, and hopped into Star’s car heading towards the sunken hotel, filled with dread.

* * *

“No!” Cam screamed in horror.

A loud squelching noise followed by the sound of a body thudding to the ground echoed around the cave.

Michael’s eyes widened in terror. He had just staked his niece.

David growled with rage, “You dumbass! Why would you do that?” 

The older man stood in shock unable to reply. Three boys rushed past him and kneeled at the girl’s side. Cam laid on the ground, a wooden stake embedded in her stomach. She cried out in pain as Dwayne moved her upper body into his lap as gently as he could.

“We need to keep her upper body elevated, it’ll decrease the bleeding,” Dwayne said on edge. He could smell the blood and it was driving him insane. 

“We need to get the stake out of her, it’s killing her!” Paul said, trying to claw his way past Marko to get at Cam.

“No, the stake stays in. It’s the only thing keeping her from bleeding out,” David snapped at his brother, silencing him.

Michael continued to stand as his actions set in, “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, he couldn’t bear to speak any louder, “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Marko was fuming as he growled at Michael, “No shit you didn’t mean for this to happen. Cam might die and it’ll be all your fault.”

Dwayne glanced towards the entrance. “Somebody’s here.”

The five men all stared at the opening of the cave, Cam too tired to move. 

“Michael? Cam? David?” Laddie called out, praying that everything was okay.

Star made it down the path first and stopped abruptly at the scene she was met with, “Oh my god.”

Laddie heard her, “Star? What is it? What’s happening-“ he froze. 

By the fountain stood Michael in front of the four boys who raised him tending to his wounded daughter. He quickly ran to Cam’s side disregarding Michael’s presence. “What happened? Is she gonna be okay?” he asked frantically.

“Dad?” Cam said weakly, coughing up a few droplets of blood.

“Cam, please tell me what happened,” Laddie said to his daughter, his eyes filling with tears.

She sighed sleepily, “I was protecting them, I couldn’t see them get hurt Dad.”

“We need to call an ambulance,” Star said behind Laddie. “She needs help.”

“I don’t think she has enough time,” Dwayne said solemnly, “Her heartbeat is really slow.”

Laddie let out a sob. Cam was his only kid. She was his lifeline, without her he was nothing. He shook his head not wanting to believe that he’d have to live in a world without his baby. He looked at David with pleading eyes.

David already knew what he was going to ask.

“Please, David. Please, you have to turn her. You saved me once, you have to save her. I can’t live without her.”

He looked at his former brother seriously, “You know what it means if I do this. She’ll never age. She’ll have to feed like we do. She’ll be different-.”

“She’ll be here. She won’t die,” Laddie cuts him off. There was no protest from Michael or Star, they knew it had to be done if they wanted to see their niece live another day.

David glanced up at the group, “She’s too weak to drink from the bottle, we’ll have to do this the old fashioned way.” The three other vampires nodded at their leader, Dwayne motioning for Laddie to back up and give David space to crouch next to Cam while removing his jackets to bear his arms. David bit his wrist tearing at the flesh. He removed his arm from his mouth and hovered it above the drowsy girl’s mouth, “Drink. It’ll take away the pain.”

The dying girl opened her mouth and let the blood drip in. Its taste was unexpected, it was coppery but had hints of smoke and cinnamon. After a few drops slid down her throat, she found it addicting. She reached up and pulled David’s bleeding wrist to her mouth.

David looked to Marko, “Pull the stake out while she’s still drinking, she’s distracted now.” Marko nodded and firmly gripped the protruding object stuck in her abdomen. He did a silent count to three before pulling it out and throwing the stake away to put pressure on the still-healing wound. It was bleeding but not nearly as much as it would have if she had not been given David’s blood.

Laddie, Star, and Michael all watched from the side. Laddie and Star had tears slipping down their faces, they had wanted better for Cam and she had ended up exactly where they had started. They felt like they’d failed her. Michael stood silently, slowly being consumed by his guilt.

Cam’s wound had finally closed up and David was putting his layers back on as he stood. “She needs rest,” he said to Laddie as Dwayne picked her up and set her in one of the old nests towards the back of the cave.

Laddie nodded in understanding, he had been through the change before and he knew that it could be exhausting especially when you were changed while you were hurt. “She said she was protecting you. She didn’t want to see you boys get hurt,” he said to David, his voice still laced with emotion.

David glanced at Michael, eyes filled with anger before softening his look and turning to Laddie, “If it weren't for her, Michael probably would’ve killed me. She jumped in front of me, she saved my life.”

Star and Laddie both looked to Michael in shock. Star spoke before Laddie could fully process David’s words, “You stabbed her?” she asked, horrified. She backed away from her husband slowly. He nearly killed Cam.

“I didn’t mean to,” Michael mumbled, looking at the ground in shame.

“I don’t care, Michael. I told you it was a bad idea for you to come here. If you had just listened to me, our niece would be safe right now. She wouldn’t be a half-vampire.”

“You don’t know that she would’ve been safe! She was here with them,” Michael spat with venom.

Laddie interrupted him, “They just saved her from your stupidity, Michael. It’s your fault my daughter almost died!” Laddie was pissed, The Lost Boys had saved him as a kid and took him in and now they were offering the same for his daughter. He was offended that Michael still saw them as the bad guys. 

“She wouldn’t have been in any danger in the first place if you stopped her from coming here!” Michael continued to fight.

“She had the right to know!”

“That’s enough!” Star shouted over the two. “Michael, I understand you don’t care for the boys but you need to realize that you’re in the wrong here. You almost killed Cam and they saved her.”

“They’ve turned her into a bloodsucking monster!”

“Get out,” she commanded, done with Michael’s incessant arguing.

“What?” he said in disbelief.

“I said, get out. You staked your own niece and you aren’t even worried for her. You haven’t shed a single tear. Cam had to be turned for her to survive your stupid decision,” Star said coldly, glaring at her husband. Laddie stood back knowing he had no place in this argument.

Michael backed away from Star slowly, not knowing how he’d fix this situation. He left the cave not saying a word.

Star sighed heavily, Laddie resting his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She looked him in the eyes sadly, she knew that a future with Michael past this was unlikely. What he did was unforgivable.

Dwayne came back from Cam’s new nest. “She’s pretty tired, she’ll probably wake up tomorrow night. That injury really knocked her out,” he said to the tension-filled room. Paul and Marko lowered their heads sadly.

David looked to Star and Laddie and they nodded, understanding that that was their cue to leave. “We’ll make sure she’s alright,” he said, reassuring Laddie.

“I know you will, we’ll be back tomorrow night to check on her.”

Star walked up the stairs towards her car as Laddie waved her to go ahead and that he’d catch up with her. He turned to David again, “Listen, this really means a lot to me. Thank you for saving her, she’s my entire life you know?”

“I understand, I’m glad you still trust us enough to let us care for her,” David said, uncharacteristically soft-spoken. 

Laddie nodded again and turned towards the exit, climbing into the passenger seat of Star’s car, “If you wanna stay in the guest room tonight, that’s alright with me.”

Star stared numbly out the front windshield, “Yeah, I think I’ll do that.” She wouldn’t be going home to Michael tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter left!! I hope you guys like this story<3~River


	13. Epilogue

The sun had set in Santa Carla as the four rowdy vampires woke up. They hopped down from the pole they hung from during their slumber and made their way to the main lobby of the sunken hotel. Tonight was going to be eventful, they had much to discuss concerning the newest member of their family.

The boys sat in their usual spots, David in his wheelchair, Dwayne on the tattered couch, Paul on the fountain, and Marko on his perch near the wall of the cave.

“We need to figure out what we’re gonna tell Cam when she wakes up. She should remember what happened, right?” Marko asked, uncharacteristically getting straight to business. All the boys were on edge, they didn’t know how the girl would react.

“We’re telling her the truth. We can’t coddle her, she needs to feed. We can’t have another situation like we did with Star and Michael,” David said.

“What if she refuses? Or if Star or Laddie try to stop her?” Paul questioned, thinking of the worst possible outcome.

“Then we have no choice but to deal with them,” Dwayne answered. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that but his brothers came before anyone else.

“Exactly. Ideally, Laddie and Star will stick to their word and let us take in Cam with no issues but worst-case scenarios happen all the time and we need to be prepared for them,” David said, already formulating a plan in his head for said worst-case scenario.

Marko spoke again, “What are we gonna do about Michael?”

David glanced at the shorter boy before sighing heavily, “If we want Cam’s loyalty we’ll have to go with whatever she feels is right. She may be angry with him for staking her, so if she wants him gone then we deal with him as a family. If she doesn’t want us to hurt him then we’ll have to leave him alone.”

Marko nodded, he wasn’t entirely struck on the idea of sparing Michael’s life after what he did to them, but Cam’s trust mattered much more than his vendetta.

“Honestly, death might be too easy for him,” Paul said from the fountain, lighting up a joint. “You saw how he was yesterday after he nearly killed her, I could practically smell the guilt rolling off him. He’s gotta live with that. Not to mention Star doesn’t seem particularly happy with him either. He staked their niece, that’s gotta take a toll on their marriage.”

A rustling noise came from the side of the cave before the curtains to Cam’s nest parted and she stepped out. She raised her head to look at the boys and froze.

It started with Marko, his curls were the most beautiful golden color she’d ever seen. His face looked sculpted by the gods. She knew he was attractive before she was turned but now she couldn’t bear to take her eyes off his gorgeous face.

“Hey, look who’s awake!” Paul smiled, while standing at the fountain’s edge. Another wave of amazement washed over the girl. His eyes were like deep pools, she could easily get lost in them. The stubble on his cheeks called out for her to reach out. 

She stopped herself and looked away only to be met with the gaze of Dwayne. She felt a bolt of electricity run through her body as their eyes met. Her gaze shifted downward towards his bare chest peeking out from behind his leather jacket. She wanted, no, needed, to touch him. She needed to feel what it was like to be trapped in his embrace.

“What’s going on?” Marko asked, pushing himself towards the girl. She looked dazed.

She remained entranced until David spoke up, “She’s feeling a connection to us.”

Cam’s head snapped towards the platinum blonde as he spoke. Her gaze softened at David. Her David. She had been willing to give up her life to save him before she became a half-vampire and those feelings were only strengthened now. She couldn’t resist the pull to him and immediately approached him to grab his leather-clad hands.

She looked into his eyes and whispered, “You saved me.”

He looked down at her and spoke back softly, “You saved me first.” He leaned down, raising one of his hands to cradle her face and kissed her. It wasn’t anything like she had expected from David, it was soft and full of love and trust and warmth.

She was the first to pull away before speaking, “What is all of this?”

David motioned for her to sit down. She chose to sit on the couch next to Dwayne, before looking back to David for an explanation.

“You’re our mate,” he started. “The universe fated us to be together. Max had explained it to me when I was first turned but I thought it was all bullshit. The thought of one person being your perfect matched seemed completely insane so I blew it off. Until we met you.”

“All four of you are my mates? How does that work?” she questioned. Soulmates are supposed to be two people.

“If a pack is close enough, it’s not uncommon for two or more vampires to share the same mate. It keeps us together,” he tried to make her understand.

“Is that why you guys never hurt me?”

“Partially,” David began. “We didn’t want to hurt you because you’re Laddie’s daughter and he never did anything wrong to us so we didn’t see you as a threat, but yes, we also didn’t want to hurt you because we felt that you were special. We didn’t know you were our mate exactly but we knew that you were somebody that we couldn’t and wouldn’t harm under any circumstances. Once you came out from your nest and we felt the bond, it just solidified that. We never want to hurt you or see you hurt.”

“Why couldn’t you feel it when I was human?”

“Typically, the mate of a vampire tends to be a vampire. We felt a pull to you when you were human but the bond strengthened after you drank my blood, it’ll only grow stronger once you fully change,” David explained.

“Once I fully change. Meaning once I kill someone and feed for the first time,” she said to no one in particular.

Dwayne rested his hand on her knee, “It seems daunting now but when the time comes your instincts will kick in and you’ll be okay.”

She nodded at him, appreciating the soothing gesture. She raised her head suddenly, “What about my dad? The rest of my family? Will I still be able to see them?”

David raised a hand, cutting her off, “Yes, don’t worry. You’ll still be able to see your family. They know of your situation and show no signs of revealing what we are. Laddie and Star should actually be showing up soon. They wanted to make sure you woke up okay.”

As if on cue, the 5 vampires heard a car pulling up outside. A few minutes passed as the girl’s father and aunt entered the cave. Cam shot up from her seat and immediately embraced her family, happy to see them. 

Laddie and Star groaned at the contact. “Cam, sweetheart, you’re crushing us,” Laddie tapped his daughter’s shoulder in an attempt to get her to ease up. She immediately pulled away apologizing before the two adults reassured her that everything was okay.

Star surged forward, cradling Cam’s face in her hands before kissing her forehead, “I’m so sorry Cam, I tried to stop your uncle from coming here. He wouldn’t listen and now you’ve been forced to become a vampire to keep you alive,” she said with tears in her eyes.

“It’s okay Aunt Star. You never could’ve known this would’ve happened. Please don’t blame yourself,” Cam said sadly. She looked to her father who was wearing a worried expression, “Hey dad, do you think we could talk in private?”

He nodded and turned to leave as she followed him. They made it to the top of the cliff. Cam was the first to speak, “I’m so sorry this happened, Dad. I should’ve been careful. You told me the boys might be expecting an attack and it was stupid of me to come here.”

He shook his head, “You should listen to your own advice. You told your aunt that she couldn’t have expected this to happen so how could you have?”

“I couldn’t. But now I’m a half-vampire. I’m going to have to turn fully eventually. I’m never gonna age, I feel like I took away something important from you. You won’t get to see me grow up anymore, I’m stuck like this forever,” she said, looking to the ground.

“Cam, you need to stop being so hard on yourself. It sucks that I won’t see you grow up from here but at least I get to see you. I begged David to save you because I knew I wouldn’t be able to live a life without you. He’s given me the greatest gift of all, I’ll know you’re safe and alive, he gave me peace of mind. You’re in good hands here, Cam. Stop worrying about how I feel,” he said, comforting his daughter.

Inside the lobby , Star was looking at her surroundings. Reminiscing about all the things that had happened in the cave when she was younger. David walked up to her, cutting her thoughts short, “What you said to Michael yesterday was pretty badass.”

She smiled at him lightly before a solemn look fell over her face, “Yeah, I guess it was. I was just so angry for what he did to Cam. I don’t know what to do about him now.”

Paul approached her from behind and threw an arm over her shoulder with a laugh, “You dump his ass, that’s what you do about him.” Star looked at him shocked at his suggestion. “Oh come on, don’t give me that look. Look at all the shit he’s pulled lately and tell me it’s not divorce-worthy. He almost killed Cam because he didn’t listen to you telling him not to come here,” he said exasperated.

Marko spoke while walking towards the group of three, “He’s got a point. Best case scenario he’s a poor listener, worst case he’s an attempted murderer, not exactly husband material if you ask me.”

Star realized that the boys were right. If it weren’t for Michael, all of this could’ve been avoided. Her niece would still be human. Laddie was right too, they weren’t entirely evil. She suddenly felt guilty for her actions from over three decades ago.

“I’m so sorry for all of this, I wasn’t comfortable with your lifestyle when I was younger and I misjudged you guys as monsters. I made a rash decision to get out and Marko nearly died because of it. I betrayed you guys and got angry when you retaliated. You were just protecting your family and I understand that now,” she rambled on.

David stopped her, “We get it. You wanted out, had you had come to us saying you wanted to take out the head vampire we would’ve served you Max’s head on a platter. We turned you because he wanted a daughter but he refused to see you until you were fully turned, which is why we were so impatient with you. This lifestyle isn’t for everyone, it’s why we don’t change many people.”

She sighed in relief, “I just needed to get that off my chest. I also wanted to thank you for saving Cam’s life, I’m so protective over her and to see her dead would’ve killed me.”

“I would’ve done it even if Laddie hadn’t have asked,” he said.

“You would’ve?”

“Of course, we all care about Cam deeply. We couldn’t see her die just as much as you couldn’t. We’ve grown rather fond of her these past few days. She’s important.”

Star understood exactly what David had insinuated, the boys had fallen for Cam. They couldn’t watch someone they love die, especially when they know they could do something about it. Star and David had stared each other down with a new sense of mutual respect, they now had something in common, they both wanted what was best for Cam.

Cam and Laddie wander back into the cave together. She breaks off from her father and immediately is brought in by Paul who wraps his arm around her shoulder and rests his chin on top of her head, “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going stir crazy staying in the cave for so long. We should go hang out on the boardwalk and grab a bite to eat.”

Star looks to Laddie, “I guess that’s our cue to leave.” 

Laddie nodded at his sister before pulling his daughter into a final hug for the night, “Be safe and make good decisions.”

“You’ve met the boys right? Making good decisions isn’t exactly their forte,” she said sarcastically.

Laddie laughed at his daughter before passing her off to be hugged by her aunt, “Just remember, I don’t care that you’re some sort of scary vampire now, that’s no excuse to not visit me every once in a while.”

Cam giggled at Star’s statement, “You don’t have to worry about that. You’re not gonna get rid of me that easily.”

The girl’s father and aunt exited the cave and returned to their home leaving the group of teens on their own. “Alright, we’re burning moonlight. Let’s go,” David said, motioning the group to head toward the cliff where they parked their bikes.

Cam was the second to last one to make it to the bikes followed closely by David. He stopped her when he realized what bike she was walking towards. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

“Uhh trying to get on my bike so we can go to the boardwalk,” she answered, stating the obvious.

“No, you’re riding with me tonight. Now hop on,” he commanded. The boys surrounding him snickered at the oncoming argument between the two.

“Why the hell should I ride with you when I have my own bike?” Cam said with an attitude.

“You’ve got an eternity to ride your own bike, you’re riding with me tonight.”

“Well then by that definition, I’ve got an eternity to ride with you. Why can’t I ride my own tonight?”

David didn’t reply, he just gave her a warning glance to not push the subject. She sighed at his childishness and climbed on the bike behind him. 

“Don’t expect this to happen every night,” she said, pretending to pout. He smirked at her, finally getting what he wanted and pulled towards the dirt path that led to the boardwalk. An eternity with The Lost Boys may not be so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s the end of this story! I hope you guys enjoyed it, this marks the end of my very first multi chapter fic! Thank you for reading~River


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